A sad presentation from Coldplay overshadowed by Beyoncé, it almost seemed as the English guitar band were the side singers and not the main show. Thank goodness for the NFL on always pairing up lead performers with other superstars that can save the show when the main attraction fails to deliver on the Super Bowl.
Coldplay was supposed to deliver one of the best Super Bowl halftime shows in the history of the event, now it has fed the worst halftime show performances, but Beyoncé and Bruno Mars saved them from a complete disaster.
If it wasn’t for Queen B, Coldplay could be joining Cam Newton in the Super Bowl’s worst acts of all time.
Cold Play Super Bowl 50 – We Expected More
Coldplay opened with a mandala flowery-looking stage, the floor was a massive screen playing some of the Halftime Show’s best moments. Few Americans understood the theme of it all, it was supposed to represent the Glastonbury festival, the equivalent of Woodstock but from the UK. The hippie thematic did not go well with the Super Bowl style, and all that Coldplay did for the entire show was take selfies with screaming teenagers strategically placed to have the singer something to fondle with. Clearly, they had no idea how to dance other that with their instruments, a traditional aspect during the Halftime Shows.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmDy9KSAEyc
When Coldplay were announced for Super Bowl 50, they were the ones to demand Beyoncé to be there. Thanks God for that. We were heads on the Halftime Show prop bets with Coldplay singing Viva La Vida to open up the show. Other Super Bowl prop bets included Manning retiring, we have our fingers crossed to win that one.
The band was accompanied by the Youth Orchestra lead by one of the best orchestra directors, Mr. Dudamel. Children dressed as flowers recalling the hippy movement gave some cute moments to the whole presentation, but it wasn’t to what $20k ticket holders were used to watch.
Then Bruno Mars happened, changing the entire mood of the weird peace and love scene.
Bruno Mars Super Bowl 50 – Overhyped
Bruno Mars’s performance has been catalogued as overhyped by many. He was a surprise in the halftime show and his invitation to be in the event had been forgotten late in December, when it was confirmed Coldplay and Beyoncé would be the hosts.
Dressed all in black, in what seemed to be a tribute to James Brown (sunglasses included), Bruno Mars stormed the stage with Mark Ronson and an army of dancers. Bruno Mars gave Coldplay a lesson of how a Super Bowl stage is managed, with complex coordinated dance moves that had nothing to do with Coldplay’s amateur selfies.
Bruno Mars performance has also been disregarded as blunt, we differ, he just wasn´t supposed to be the main attraction of the night. For a sideshow, he completely delivered above expectation. His battle with Queen B was thrilling.
Beyoncé Super Bowl 50 – One of the Best Short Performances
Beyoncé was added to the Super Bowl 50 list of performances apparently by Coldplay´s request, who had recently released an album with Queen B´s collaboration. I mean, she wasn’t even supposed to make it against several other A-listers like Rihanna. And she utterly stole the show from Coldplay with a surprising performance, not only for the incredible dance moves but the aggressive theme it represented.
While Coldplay was all about hippy love, probably a response to the present situation of war in the Middle East, Beyoncé came up with a very personal message which is the theme of her new album, reclaiming black female power. She stepped on stage with an army of black clad dancers, all dressed in “Black Panther” fashion (not precisely related to the Panthers playing the game), a terrorist group from the 70’s that rivaled the KKK and claimed black supremacy; weird choice for the Halftime Show.
Her outfit was also supposed to remember Michael Jackson and his past Super Bowl performance, while Bruno Mars represented James Brown and Coldplay Whitney Houston (he he!). She sang one of her most recent songs, released the day before, a strategy that has probably sold millions of copies by now on iTunes.
Queen B first stormed with a black heritage message of roots pride, then moved on to a dance battle against Bruno Mars (Coldplay was K.O. in the shadows by then).
Finally all three artists came back together to do camera chase, and it was clear Coldplay did not fit in the group, as the meme´s have perfectly labelled.
Then the Super Bowl game resumed into a fury of quarterback destruction.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_Hgh7sPDLM
Lady Gaga´s National Anthem
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITIjZkcNpTA
Before all this confusing, sad and exhilarating event occurred, Lady Gaga had sang the National Anthem prior to the game in clothes that memes tied up to the Hunger Games, as Gaga looked “in flames” all in red dress and eyelashes.
As prop bets go, Bovada betrayed most of their bettors by claiming an Under with the anthem´s duration when most sportsbooks gave the Over, Gaga clearly took more than 2 minutes and 9 seconds to finish the anthem.
External Links
[1] Theguardian.com, Beyoncé Coldplay Super Bowl 50 Halftime Show Review, 2016
